By Ronald Ndawula
In primary seven at Ntinda primary school I used to fear speak English because I had come from Luwero boys school where English was not very official as at Ntinda.
I met a very beautiful, eloquent and bright Alur girl Comfort and she becane very close to me because I naturally attract bright people.
I loved so much to hear her speak fluent english and her handwriting was phenomenal. She used to get D1 in english and I used to beat her in Maths and science.
Later, I became a family friend and her mother liked me a lot and her siblings.
Much of the time I was doing the listening and she was doing the talking because I couldn’t match her proficiency in the Queens language.
After school we used to go together to fetch water somewhere along semawata RD where there was a broken national water pipe.
Some how our friendship gradually developed into something bigger at this stage called intimacy. We for sure fell for one another but very difficult to tell what we really wanted. I felt so nervous whenever I thought about telling this beautiful girl the bad things, more so saying it in english.
Many times we held our Jerry cans, planned to go to the bush but we stopped shot of eating the forbidden fruit because of fear of how to start the action.
Comfort and I were virgins like Adam and Eve in Eden and we waited for the snake to tell us what to do in vain.
Times past and our relationship got stronger since we were also the best in class.
During the music festivals and P7 leavers party I hated to see anyone dancing with her because I knew as everyone that she’s mine.
One day a friend of mine Gilbert who was equally fluent in english like her, discussed behind my back and told Comfort that I have other girls!
I felt so bad and that’s the last time, I believe, I stopped talking to Gilbert todate and never heard about him again.
The worst and painful bit was, Comfort started fetching water with Gilbert. At that age, Comfort was everything to me and I used to think that I will marry her when we grow up.
After the scuffle with Gilbert, Comfort told me that she’s sorry for what happened and I can’t explain how I felt.
That day alone, I left Comfort’s compound late in the night not even seeing her but as an askari just in case Gilbert shows up.
After primary leaving certificate, destiny took its toll and Comfort went to sacred heart in Gulu and I joined Makerere college.
That’s how i lost the love of my childhood beautiful Alur girl but the memories are still fresh for the words “Ronald, I am sorry” .
Nobody had ever told me in english those two words plus my name!
Today the news were awash with the news of the Hon. Chief justice Owiny Dollo going to Bulange purposely to apologise to the Kabaka of Buganda for the words he erroneously uttered about him.
To me, that was good enough to show that the chief justice is indeed a gentleman, he is cultured, courageous, religious and reliable.
When Jesus saved a prostitute from a mob which was ready to stone her to death, he asked those tormentors with the eternal words, “let those who have not sinned be the first to cast a stone”.
The bible says , ‘Slowly one by one they all left and the lady was saved’.
Now that the Chief Justice has realised his mistake and apologised, who are you to harbour any further grudge against him.
The act of taking off time from his chores and makes an appointment to go himself and deliver the apology verbatim is a humbling experience to me and for that, thank you for being a gentleman that you’re.
For the Baganda. Now that the Prime Minister has accepted the apology what else can we do apart from looking for beautiful girls in Acholi land for marriage who are now also Kabakas subjects and I know they can be so good as my Comfort.
Now every sane Acholi knows our Kabaka is ‘NANTAVUMIKA’.
For Hon Norbert Mao who seduced the chief Justice to speak lies because of his political agenda should be treated like Gilbert.
The Writer, Ronald Ndawula, is a former Chairperson, Luweero District.